This is a little long but it's great advice. [View all]

[Phoenix61]

I know there’s a lot of memes going around with comments about telling ICE/Police “no I don’t know anyone that’s undocumented” etc.

I want to offer while we all know you don’t know shit, we all need to be very careful interacting with police.

*Importantly, you never want to say anything to police that can be used against you or community members that you think you’re trying to protect.*

I know this is long, but if you are going to be doing things that may put you in contact with police, please read this.

So here is some general script guidelines for dealing with police.

If they come to your home:
DO NOT open the door. Completely ignore them. Do not speak to them. Nothing. Not one word.

Ignore them until they leave. If they scream through the door that they have a warrant:

You confirm by saying:
“If you have a warrant, please produce it.”

If you have a ring camera, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Instead, tell them to “please produce the warrant at the ring camera.” If you have a front window, ask them to produce it at the window.

If they do not produce one, say:

“I do not consent to searches, please leave the property,” and SHUT UP. Not one single other word. Stick to the script, walk away.

They will attempt to get you to talk. They will say things like “we have some questions,” or “we need to speak with you.” They will say anything they can to scare you into opening your door and engaging with them. DO NOT engage. Period. Nothing. Not one word other than “I do not consent to any searches, please leave the property,” and walk away from your door.

If you are stopped on the street or you intervene in a stop of someone else on the street, DO NOT produce identification. They will tell you to, they will threaten you, you DO NOT have to produce idenfication for a consentual encounter with the police. So you say:

“I/we do not consent to speaking with you, am I/are we being detained or am I/are we free to go?”

If they say you are free to go, walk away. SHUT UP. Not one word. Just walk away.

If they respond that you are being detained this is no longer a “voluntary stop,” and is now what is called a “Terry stop.”

But you still DO NOT have to produce identification.

Because for a Terry Stop, they must have a ‘reasonable articulable suspicion’ that you either committed a crime, are in the process of, or about to commit a crime.

So, you say:

“I/we do not consent to speaking with you, please elaborate what am I being detained for.”

If the officer can not explain to you, clearly, what crime you are being detained for, you DO NOT have to produce identification. So DO NOT produce idenfication.

Some things to remember:

“Looking suspicious,” is not a crime.
Existing in a public space is not a crime.
“I just want to check your documentation status” is not reasonable suspicion you are committing a crime.

They will continue to demand your ID. They will say you legally have to produce it. They will lie to you and threaten you, they will scare you.

If they can not articulate a crime that you have/are/will do, you say:

“You have not articulated what crime I am being suspected of, I do not consent to speaking with you, I do not consent to searches, am I being detained or am I free to go?”

The goal of the officer will be to get you talking. They will frustrate you. They will lie to you. They will say or do anything to get you to talk.

DO NOT SAY ONE SINGLE WORD OTHER THAN THIS SCRIPT. Repeat as necessary. But say nothing else.

Just repeat over and over:

“I do not consent to speaking with you,”
“Am I being detained or am I free to go,”
“You have not articulated what crime I am being suspected of,”
“I do not consent to searches.”

*safety note*

If the office demands to search your person for ‘officer safety,’ you say:

“I do not consent to searches,” AND you put your arms above your head. Do not fight the cop as they search your pockets. They DO have a right during a Terry stop to frisk for weapons to ensure ‘officer safety,’ BUT you need to make clear, “I do not consent to searches,” so that if they find anything other than weapons that might be illegal, it will be harder for them to use it against you.

NEVER FOR ANY REASON, EVER consent to a search. If you know/feel the police are about to escalate to violence if you do not comply, you say: “I do not consent to searches” but do not resist.

If during a frisk the cop asks, “what’s this?”

SHUT UP. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as mundane as a quarter or a deck of cards, SHUT UP. Do not say what it is. Say absolutely nothing until the frisk is over.

*important note for those with conceal carry permits that may be carrying a concealed pistol. Check your state laws about what “duty to report” laws may apply to you.*

Otherwise SHUT UP.

It is the job of your lawyer to talk to the police and the courts. That’s what they do. Your job is to SHUT UP. The less you say, the more power your lawyer has. NEVER CONSENT to any encounter, searches, or questions to police. But DO NOT resist physically if violence is eminent.

Say nothing but the script, over and over until:
(1) they say you are free to go
(2) arrest you.

If you are arrested, you immediately say:

“I invoke my 5th amendment right to remain silent,” and you SHUT UP. Do not speak. Nothing. Not one single word other than:

“I want to speak with an attorney.”

When you get to the station, SHUT UP. Do not speak. Not one word other than “I want to speak with an attorney.”

Those are the only words that should come out of your mouth from the moment you are arrested until the moment you have spoken to your attorney. NEVER, FOR ANY REASON EVER waive your right to an attorney and interview with or make a statement to the police without a lawyer present that has informed you on what you should and should not say before the interview.

**Here is why sticking to this script is VITAL.**

It is the job of police to get you to snitch on yourself and others. That’s their job. They have the right to lie to you, and you do not have the right to lie to them.

The police are not your friends. They are not there to help you. They will not make things better for you if you confess or snitch on someone. Their job is to catch you in a lie or scare you into incriminating yourself or others, and to put human beings in a cage. That is their job. They are very good at their jobs.

The Miranda rights are very clear:

“Anything you say can and will be used against you.”

If you say “I don’t know any immigrants,” or “I didn’t see nothing I don’t know nothing” and the police arrest someone in your neighborhood, they can now come at you for obstruction and lying to a police officer (which is illegal). Say they pulled or got consent to pull footage from your neighbors ring camera. Or the camera on the stoplight, or one of a hundred cameras we pass everyday, and say they see you talking to their target. You are now facing charges.

So shut up. Not a word. Stick to the script. Give them
Absolutely nothing.

Stay safe.